O 
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HENRY  GANNETT 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE 


NATIONAL  GEOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY 


1910-1914 


By 
S.  N.  D.  NORTH 


THE  NATIONAL  GEOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY 
1915 


HENRY  GANNETT 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE 


NATIONAL  GEOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY 


1910-1914 


By 
S.  N.  D.  NORTH 


THE  NATIONAL  GEOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY 
1915 


> 


313221 


HENRY  GANNETT 

President  of  the  National  Geographic  Society,  1910-1914 


HENRY    GANNETT 


HENRY  GANNETT,  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
National  Geographic  Society  and  its  fifth 
President,  often  called  "the  father  of  American 
map-making,"  died  in  Washington  on  November  5, 
1914.  In  his  passing  we  parted  with  the  man  who  did 
more  than  any  contemporary  to  systematize  the  science 
of  geography  in  its  practical  application,  and  to  bring 
within  popular  comprehension  the  fact  that  this  science 
lies  at  the  basis  of  many  of  the  sciences.  The  statement 
claims  much  for  the  man  and  for  the  science ;  it  is  a  part 
of  the  purpose  of  this  memorial  of  Henry  Gannett  to 
demonstrate  its  truth,  both  as  to  the  man  and  the  science 
to  which  he  devoted  his  life  with  a  tireless  consecration. 
The  other  purpose  is  to  pay  affectionate  tribute  to  a 
friend  of  long  years'  standing,  a  citizen  who  lived  a  life 
of  modest  and  earnest  usefulness,  a  public  official  whose 
personality,  zeal,  and  devotion  contributed  so  unstint- 
ingly  to  the  splendid  success  of  the  National  Geographic 
Society  throughout  the  twenty-eight  years  of  its  exist- 
ence. The  writer  has  known  Henry  Gannett  since  we 
were  fellow- workers  in  the  Federal  Census  of  1880. 
We  were  associated  in  the  two  subsequent  censuses  and 
in  the  permanent  Census  Office.  I  write,  therefore,  as 
a  friend  who  had  exceptional  opportunity  to  know  the 
method  and  the  quality  of  his  work,  and  to  study  his 
personal  character.  He  had  laid  the  enduring  basis  of 
his  reputation  before  we  met,  and  it  was  as  a  topogra- 
pher that  he  left  his  chief  impress  upon  the  history  of 


HENRY  GANNETT 


geographical  science  in  the  United  States.  But  it  was 
the  rare  combination  of  the  topographer  and  the  statis- 
tician which  made  his  work  so  unique  and  so  construc- 
tive— a  combination  not  found  in  any  like  degree  in 
any  of  the  scientists  with  whom  he  worked  side  by  side 
in  those  early  days. 

Born  in  Maine  on  August  24,  1846,  the  son  of 
Michael  Farley  and  Hannah  Church  Gannett,  of  rugged 
Anglo-Saxon  stock,  Henry  Gannett  took  his  degree  as 
bachelor  of  science  (equivalent  to  the  present  degree  of 
civil  engineer)  at  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School  of 
Harvard  in  1869,  and  his  degree  as  mining  engineer  at 
the  Hooper  Mining  School  in  1870.  At  Cambridge  he 
was  a  contemporary  of  Dr.  F.  W.  Clarke  of  the  Geo- 
logical Survey  and  Dr.  Charles  E.  Munroe  of  the 
George  Washington  University,  with  both  of  whom  he 
touched  elbows  during  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  for 
a  brief  period  assistant  in  the  Harvard  Observatory,  and 
accompanied  Professor  Pickering  to  Spain  in  1871,  to 
observe  the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  in  that  year.  Upon 
his  return  he  received  an  appointment  as  astronomer  in 
Captain  C.  F.  Hall's  North  Polar  Expedition  of  1871; 
but  there  came  simultaneously  an  invitation  to  join  the 
United  States  Geological  and  Geographical  Survey  of 
the  Territories  under  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden,  and  this  latter 
offer  appealing  more  to  his  taste  and  education,  he  came 
to  Washington.  He  was  appointed  topographer  for 
the  western  division  of  the  Hayden  Survey,  and  con- 
tinued actively  in  that  work  until  1879,  when  the  Hay- 
den Survey  was  merged  in  the  newly  created  United 
States  Geological  Survey. 

Page  Four 


HENRY  GANNETT? 


It  was  hazardous  work  and  appealed  to  the  adven- 
turous spirit.  It  carried  the  hardy  young  engineer  into 
regions  where  the  foot  of  white  man  had  never  before 
trod;  across  mountain  passes  and  torrential  rivers; 
among  wild  Indian  tribes  often  on  the  war-path. 

He  first  discovered  and  christened  many  a  mountain 
peak  and  hidden  lake ;  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  ascend 
Mt.  Whitney,  the  highest  peak  in  the  United  States  out- 
side of  Alaska ;  and  it  was  in  recognition  of  his  intrepid 
pioneer  work  that  his  associates  christened  the  highest 
peak  in  the  Wind  River  range  in  Wyoming  "Mount 
Gannett."  There  were  hairbreadth  escapes  and  great 
physical  fatigues,  calling  for  dauntless  courage  and 
great  endurance. 

Thus  Henry  Gannett  had  his  schooling  in  American 
geography  at  first  hand,  and  thus  he  learned  how  to 
write  it  down  in  the  reports  and  maps  which  today  com- 
pletely reveal  its  physical  characteristics.  He  was  a 
pioneer  explorer  and  topographer  of  great  sections, 
more  particularly  Colorado  and  Wyoming,  of  the  vast 
empire  which  the  Louisiana  Purchase  added  to  our 
national  domain.  It  was  a  region  filled  with  geologic 
wonders  and  immeasurable  industrial  possibilities,  which 
appealed  equally  to  the  imagination  and  the  practical 
turn  of  the  young  engineer's  mind. 

Dr.  Gannett's  first  report,  on  Central  Colorado, 
appeared  in  Dr.  Hayden's  Seventh  Annual  Report 
(1873),  and  other  reports  followed  in  each  subse- 
quent report  of  that  survey.  His  final  report  (1878) 
described  the  geographical  field  work  in  the  Yellow- 
stone Park,  which  he  first  surveyed.  Among  the  bulle- 

Page  Five 


HENRY   GANNETT 


tins  and  miscellaneous  publications  of  the  Survey  are 
his  notes  accompanying  his  Contour  Map  of  the  United 
States  (1879) ,  his  lists  of  elevations  in  the  United  States 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River  (1873) ,  and  his  additional 
lists  of  elevations  (1879). 

The  quality  and  accuracy  of  his  work  brought  young 
Gannett  to  the  immediate  attention  of  all  the  men  in 
charge  of  the  several  Government  surveys  which  shared 
the  earlier  topographical  and  geological  work  of  the 
Government. 

In  1879  the  long  agitation  for  the  unification  and 
consolidation  of  the  Government  survey  work  came  to  a 
head.  Criticism  of  the  then  existing  system,  which  was 
in  reality  no  system  at  all,  had  long  agitated  the  scien- 
tists. This  work  was  then  divided  among  no  less  than 
five  distinct  organizations,  no  one  of  which  had  by  law 
any  harmonious  relations  with  the  others:  the  Hayden 
Survey,  the  Wheeler  Survey  west  of  the  one  hundredth 
meridian,  the  Clarence  King  Survey,  the  J.  W.  Powell 
Survey,  and  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  There 
was  much  overlapping  of  work  and  a  constant  clashing 
of  plans  between  these  surveys,  each  independent  of  the 
others.  Their  results  were  based  upon  different  units 
of  measurement,  impossible  of  co-ordination  and  often 
in  conflict.  The  surveys  were  in  a  sense  competitive,  at 
least  in  their  efforts  for  congressional  support,  and  in 
the  jealousies  and  frictions  which  resulted.  It  was 
clearly  not  a  good  arrangement,  from  either  a  business 
or  scientific  point  of  view.  The  consolidation  was 
strongly  favored  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences, 
and  more  vigorously  opposed  by  the  War  Department, 

Pagt  Six 


HENRY   GANtfETT 


but  it  won  on  its  merits.  The  consolidation  was  in- 
spired by  the  conviction  that  the  nation  had  a  priceless 
heritage  in  the  ownership  of  these  vast  regions,  and  a 
supreme  national  duty  to  perfect  the  legislation  under 
which  they  were  to  be  opened  up  to  make  homes  for  the 
teeming  millions  then  pouring  hitherward  from  the  old 
world. 

And  thus  was  born  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  of  the  present  day  (which  should  have  been 
named  the  Geological  and  Geographical  Survey). 
This  legislation  was  the  most  significant  of  the  many 
events  which  have  gradually  made  the  National  Capital 
the  chief  scientific  center  of  the  United  States.  While 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  was  already  conspicuous,  at 
home  and  abroad,  as  the  representative  scientific  founda- 
tion of  the  country,  the  real  beginnings  of  Washington's 
pre-eminence  as  a  scientific  center  can  be  traced  very 
largely  to  the  geographical  and  geological  students  and 
explorers  employed  in  one  or  another  of  the  five  surveys, 
and  many  of  whom  remained  with  the  new  survey. 
They  included,  with  some  who  came  in  a  little  later,  Dr. 
W.  H.  Holmes,  head  curator  of  the  National  Museum ; 
Professor  A.  H.  Thompson,  Dr.  Charles  D.  Walcott, 
Dr.  William  H.  Dall,  Professor  F.  W.  Clarke,  Grove 
K.  Gilbert,  Dr.  A.  C.  Peale,  Frederick  H.  Newell,  Dr. 
C.  Hart  Merriam,  Dr.  George  P.  Merrill,  J.  H.  Ren- 
shawe,  A.  D.  Wilson,  Marcus  Baker,  Bailey  Willis, 
Gilbert  Thompson,  Arnold  Hague,  S.  F.  Emmons, 
George  F.  Becker,  Raphael  Pumpelly,  and  John  M. 
Coulter. 

Dr.  Gannett's  appointment  in  the  new  survey  bore 

Page  Sewn 


HENRY  GANNETT 


date  of  October  8,  1879,  but  by  transfer  to  the  Census 
Office  his  first  service  was  as  geographer  of  the  Tenth 
Census.  At  the  conclusion  of  that  service,  Director 
Powell  appointed  him  Chief  Geographer,  effective  July 
1,  1882. 

His  first  report  to  Major  Powell  was  dated  June  80, 
1883,  and  these  reports  were  annually  continued  until 
his  temporary  separation  from  the  Survey  in  1902,  to 
serve  as  assistant  director  of  the  Philippine  Census. 

The  topographical  work  of  the  Government  really 
dates  from  Dr.  Gannett's  appointment  as  Chief  Geogra- 
pher. Most  of  the  surveys  of  his  predecessors  had  been 
preparatory,  and  in  the  nature  of  reconnaissance.  As 
Chief  Geographer,  Dr.  Gannett  determined  the  princi- 
ples and  methods  upon  which  the  surveys  have  since  been 
carried  on;  he  selected  the  sections  to  be  surveyed  and 
the  points  of  departure;  organized  and  instructed  the 
parties  sent  into  the  field;  inspected  their  work  in  the 
field,  from  summer  to  summer,  and  supervised  the  con- 
version of  their  field  notes  into  the  topographical  maps 
of  which  he  designed  the  plan.  Thus  it  was  that  he 
came  to  be  called  "the  father  of  American  map- 
making."  The  system  of  topography  he  built  up  is 
recognized  in  other  countries  as  the  equal  of  any,  and 
remains  practically  unchanged.  In  1887  he  began  the 
use  of  the  plane-table  for  platting  roads,  etc.,  in  the  field, 
using  vertical  angles  for  carrying  along  elevations.  In 
1891  he  began  the  use  of  the  traverse  by  transit  and 
steel  tape  for  primary  control  in  place  of  triangulation 
in  level  country;  and  about  the  same  time  he  began  the 
present  method  of  final  contouring  in  the  field  instead 

Page  Eight 


HENR?  GANNETT 


of  compiling  the  final  map  in  the  office  from  field  notes. 
All  these  improved  methods  contributed  to  quickness, 
accuracy,  and  economy  in  the  work.  His  work  com- 
manded such  wide  approval  that  new  legislation 
extended  the  topographical  survey  from  the  public 
domain,  to  which  it  was  confined  when  the  Survey  was 
organized,  to  cover  the  entire  United  States.  Some 
forty  per  cent  of  this  gigantic  undertaking  was  com- 
pleted under  Dr.  Gannett's  direction,  during  a  period 
of  about  twenty-five  years.  I  believe  that  there  exists 
no  record,  in  any  department  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, of  a  work  of  equal  scientific  importance,  covering 
a  like  period  of  time,  and  inspired  and  controlled  by  one 
master  spirit.  Henry  Gannett's  hall-mark  is  indelibly 
written  upon  the  topographical  history  of  our  country. 
Mr.  Gannett's  second  important  service  to  the  science 
of  geography  was  in  connection  with  the  decennial  cen- 
suses. So  far  as  we  know,  he  was  the  first  American  to 
discover  that  topography  and  statistics  are  twin  sisters 
of  science.  In  the  earlier  decades  it  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  understood  that  geographical  science  is  at  the 
root  of  an  accurate  and  satisfactory  census.  General 
Francis  A.  Walker  came  to  realize  it  when  superin- 
tendent of  the  1870  census.  When  he  organized  the 
centennial  census  of  1880,  one  of  his  first  steps  was  to 
invite  Dr.  Gannett  to  become  its  geographer.  Thus 
began  an  intimate  scientific  comradeship  and  personal 
friendship  which  survived  until  General  Walker's  death. 
At  that  census  every  enumeration  district  in  the  United 
States,  some  2,000  in  number,  was  for  the  first  time 
defined  in  advance  for  the  guidance  of  the  enumerator. 

Page  Nine 


HENRY   GANNETT 


This  was  one  of  many  distinctive  features  of  that  census 
by  which  Dr.  Gannett's  knowledge  and  intuitive  statis- 
tical sense  improved  and  strengthened  it.  Another  was 
his  rearrangement  of  the  geographical  division  of  the 
United  States,  which  had  long  outgrown  that  utilized  in 
the  text  books.  His  regrouping  and  rechristening  of 
these  divisions  still  stands  in  every  geography.  Still 
another  was  his  rectification  of  the  areas  of  the  States, 
which  involved  many  surprising  reductions  and  addi- 
tions in  both  the  old  and  the  new  States. 

Dr.  Gannett  developed  to  its  present  high  degree  of 
effectiveness  the  graphic  method  of  presenting  the 
results  of  statistical  inquiries.  This  art,  invented  by 
European  statisticians,  was  first  used  for  statistical 
purposes  in  America  in  the  Statistical  Atlas  of  1870. 
It  remained  for  Dr.  Gannett  to  make  the  widest  and 
most  effective  application  of  the  method  in  the  Statis- 
tical Atlas  of  1880,  published  by  the  Scribners. 

This  volume  marked  a  new  epoch  in  statistical  car- 
tography. Associated  with  Dr.  Gannett  in  its  prepara- 
tion was  Fletcher  W.  Hewes,  who  undertook  the 
original  preparation  of  the  material,  Dr.  Gannett  writ- 
ing the  text  and  revising,  editing,  and  extending  the 
plates.  Together  they  succeeded  in  symbolizing,  by 
means  of  "black  and  white"  and  colored  diagrams  and 
charts,  every  branch  of  inquiry  covered  by  that  census. 
No  statistical  atlas  before  or  since,  compiled  in  any 
country,  has  covered  so  wide  a  variety  of  topics. 

Dr.  Gannett  was  also  the  geographer  of  the  Eleventh 
and  Twelfth  Censuses,  ably  assisted  in  the  latter,  during 
his  absence  in  the  Philippines,  by  his  understudy,  Mr. 

Page  Ten 


HENRY  GANNETT 


Charles  S.  Sloane,  now  Geographer  of  the  permanent 
Census  Office. 

By  his  ingenuity  in  visualizing  statistical  results  in 
many  combinations,  and  the  use  of  a  variety  of  symbols 
devised  to  meet  special  conditions,  he  brought  all 
branches  of  statistics  within  the  ready  comprehension  of 
the  people,  and  enormously  increased  their  usefulness, 
particularly  in  schools,  colleges,  and  public  lectures. 
He  thus  made  possible  the  introduction  and  successful 
use  of  the  lantern  slide  in  the  teaching  and  understand- 
ing both  of  geography  and  statistics.  Nothing  has 
since  been  developed  in  the  graphic  method  which 
carries  the  art  beyond  his  development  of  it.  I  recall 
a  talk  of  his  at  the  Cosmos  Club  many  years  ago,  in 
which  he  lined  the  walls  with  colored  drafts  of  the 
various  symbols  he  employed,  in  an  endless  variety  of 
combinations,  suitable  for  any  association  of  related 
data,  and  described  the  particular  advantage  of  each  in 
particular  instances.  I  have  often  wished  he  had 
reduced  that  informal  talk  to  writing,  for  I  know  of  no 
treatise  on  the  subject  more  illuminating  than  this 
lecture. 

Dr.  Gannett's  subsequent  census  work  was  chiefly 
done  as  the  Assistant  Director,  with  Victor  H.  Olmsted, 
of  the  census  of  the  Philippine  Islands  in  1902,  of 
Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  in  1899,  and  of  Cuba  in  1906. 
The  Philippine  census,  being  primarily  a  war  measure, 
was  in  charge  of  an  officer  of  the  army.  In  its  statis- 
tical features  it  was  largely  the  work  of  Dr.  Gannett. 
The  principal  text  of  the  report,  together  with  the 
charts,  diagrams,  and  maps,  are  his.  In  carrying  for- 

Page  Eleven 


HENRY  GANNETT 


ward  this  work  he  penetrated  with  his  associates  among 
savage  tribes  never  before  seen  by  white  men  and  into 
regions  hitherto  deemed  inaccessible.  This  appealed  to 
the  spirit  of  adventure  in  him,  which  was  a  large  element 
in  his  success  in  geographical  field  work. 

In  1909  the  Central  American  republics  organized  a 
plan  for  a  joint  census  of  these  republics,  which  was 
officially  communicated  to  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, with  the  request  that  it  nominate  a  census  expert 
competent  to  act  as  its  director.  The  appointment  was 
tendered  to  Dr.  Gannett  on  the  ground  of  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  Spanish  language  and  his  census  experience 
in  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  the  Philippines.  Differences 
and  divisions  among  the  authorities  of  these  republics 
defeated  the  undertaking,  after  the  nomination  of  Dr. 
Gannett  had  been  accepted. 

The  United  States  Board  of  Geographic  Names,  now 
the  Geographic  Board,  affords  another  illustration  of 
Dr.  Gannett's  skillful  adaptation  of  the  science  of  geog- 
raphy to  the  purposes  of  government.  It  was  orig- 
inally an  unofficial  organization,  brought  together  by 
Dr.  Gannett  and  Dr.  T.  C.  Mendenhall  of  the  Coast 
Survey,  and  composed  of  ten  governmental  geogra- 
phers, keenly  sensitive  to  the  confusion  and  contradiction 
in  geographic  names  constantly  appearing  in  govern- 
mental publications.  President  Harrison  became  con- 
vinced that  their  work  should  be  officially  confirmed. 
He  issued  an  executive  order  on  September  4,  1890, 
constituting  the  Board,  and  directing  that  all  unsettled 
questions  concerning  geographic  nomenclature  and 
orthography,  particularly  upon  the  maps  and  charts  of 

Page  Tnvel<ve 


HENRY  GANNETT 


the  Government,  be  first  referred  to  the  Board,  and  that 
its  decisions  be  accepted  as  the  standard  authority.  Dr. 
Mendenhall  was  named  as  chairman,  and  served  until 
he  left  Washington,  in  1894,  when  Dr.  Gannett 
succeeded  him,  serving  as  chairman  of  the  Board  while 
he  lived.  A  few  days  before  his  death  he  was  again 
elected  president  of  the  Board.  To  Secretary  Sloane, 
who  told  him  of  the  fact,  he  remarked  that  the  Board 
should  have  selected  a  new  president.  When  Mr. 
Sloane  replied  that  the  Board  was  earnestly  unanimous 
in  its  desire  that  he  continue,  he  replied:  "You  are  de- 
termined I  shall  die  in  the  harness,  and  I  will." 

When  this  Board  was  created,  new  counties  and  towns 
were  being  founded  in  the  great  West  with  an  amazing 
rapidity.  They  were  frequently  christened  on  the  spur 
of  the  moment,  often  in  keeping  with  some  individual 
caprice.  The  result  was  a  rapidly  increasing  hodge- 
podge of  geographical  nomenclature.  As  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  work  of  the  Board,  it  was  directed  soon  after 
its  official  organization  to  determine  upon  several  hun- 
dred cases  of  disputed  names  in  Alaska,  where  the 
nomenclature,  derived  from  native,  Russian,  Spanish, 
and  English  sources,  was  in  great  confusion.  It 
appeared  that  nothing  less  than  a  complete  revision  of 
Alaskan  nomenclature  would  remove  this  confusion. 
Differences  only  less  confusing  appeared  in  all  parts 
of  the  country.  Transliteration  has  everywhere  been  a 
fruitful  source  of  differences  in  geographic  spelling. 
The  Board  found  hundreds  of  instances  where  the  name 
of  the  post-office  did  not  conform  to  the  name  given  by 
local  usage  to  the  town  in  which  the  post-office  was  situ- 

Page  Thirteen 


HEKEY  GANNETT 


ated.  Many  cases  existed  where  the  same  name  had 
been  given  to  two  or  more  towns  in  the  same  State.  Up 
to  the  time  of  its  last  report,  the  Board  had  decided 
5,133  such  cases.  The  rules  outlined  by  the  Board  to 
govern  its  policy  are  simple,  sensible,  and  conservative. 
They  follow  in  the  main  the  similar  rules  of  boards  and 
national  geographic  societies  of  Europe  working  for 
unification  of  geographic  names  in  their  several  coun- 
tries. This  is  one  of  the  many  ways  in  which  geographic 
science  promotes  world  civilization.  Dr.  Gannett  did 
more  work  in  this  field  than  any  other  American. 

Dr.  Gannett  took  part  in  the  forestry  and  conserva- 
tion movements  in  the  United  States,  both  officially  and 
through  his  personal  association  with  those  who  first 
brought  home  to  the  public  at  large  the  national  impor- 
tance of  the  questions  involved.  His  sympathetic 
interest  and  wise  counsel  were  always  counted  on  and 
were  freely  given  while  these  questions  were  taking 
shape,  and  entitle  him  to  remembrance  as  one  identified 
with  the  small  but  ardent  group  of  Government  "con- 
servationists," whose  efforts  in  the  latter  part  of  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt's  administration  inaugurated  a  new  pub- 
lic policy. 

His  official  activities  in  this  field  lay  along  three  lines. 
As  a  geographer  and  statistician,  both  in  the  Geological 
Survey  and  in  the  Census,  he  had  had  to  do  with  the 
gathering  and  compilation  of  data  concerning  forest 
resources  and  the  lumber  industry.  When  in  1897  the 
Geological  Survey  was  by  act  of  Congress  assigned  the 
task  of  examining  and  surveying  the  forest  reserves 
which  President  Cleveland  had  set  aside  earlier  in  the 

Page  Fourteen 


HENBY  GANNETT 


same  year,  Dr.  Gannett  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
examination  work.  In  1908,  when  President  Roose- 
velt's Conservation  Commission  undertook  to  assemble 
authoritative  data  concerning  the  nation's  resources, 
their  use,  and  the  probable  future  needs  of  the  country, 
Dr.  Gannett  was  selected  to  edit  the  report  which  pre- 
sented the  results  of  this  epoch-making  investigation, 

National  forestry  became  an  important  public  ques- 
tion only  after  it  had  been  clearly  established  that  our 
national  timber  supplies  were  being  drawn  upon  faster 
than  replaced  through  natural  growth;  and  the  gather- 
ing and  presentation  of  forest  and  lumbering  statistics, 
in  which  Dr.  Gannett  was  engaged  before  the  conserva- 
tion movement  gathered  headway,  was  therefore  valu- 
able pioneer  work.  Still  more  important  was  the  work 
performed  under  his  supervision  in  examining  and 
reporting  upon  the  forest  reserves,  which  are  now 
national  forests.  When  first  set  aside,  these  forests, 
situated  in  mountainous  portions  of  the  West,  were 
mainly  wildernesses  concerning  which  relatively  little 
was  known.  It  was  necessary  to  ascertain  the  extent 
and  character  of  their  timber  growths  and  the  relative 
suitability  of  the  lands  which  they  included  for  forest 
purposes  and  for  agricultural  use,  before  a  rational 
administrative  policy  could  be  developed  and  applied. 
Under  Dr.  Gannett  the  work  of  mapping  the  forest 
conditions  and  classifying  the  land  was  carried  forward 
through  a  series  of  years,  and  the  results  were  embodied 
in  a  number  of  Geological  Survey  reports  which  are  still 
in  many  cases  the  most  complete  accounts  of  individual 
national  forest  areas. 

Page  Fifteen 


HENBY  GANNETT 


As  editor  of  the  report  of  the  National  Conservation 
Commission,  Dr.  Gannett  had  charge  of  the  most 
important  stock-taking  of  national  resources  ever 
undertaken  by  any  government.  It  was  a  "domesday 
book"  of  an  entirely  new  order.  The  three  volumes  of 
this  report  furnished  the  basis  for  the  formulation  along 
constructive  lines  of  public  policies  of  far-reaching  value, 
and  the  report  itself  became  and  continues  to  be  a 
veritable  arsenal  of  information  on  the  topics  covered. 

Thus,  within  less  than  half  a  century  after  Henry 
Gannett  began  his  topographical  work  on  the  millions 
of  unsurveyed  acres  of  our  national  domain,  he  was 
called  to  act  as  statistician  of  a  Conservation  Commis- 
sion dedicated  to  the  work  of  saving  from  spoliation  the 
seemingly  inexhaustible  natural  resources  which  his 
surveys  opened  up  to  settlement. 

There  remain  to  be  mentioned  the  contributions  which 
Dr.  Gannett  made,  as  a  scientific  investigator,  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  natural  causes  which  control  forest 
distribution.  It  was  doubtless  his  interests  as  a  geogra- 
pher which  turned  his  mind  to  inquiries  in  this  field. 
The  results  were  presented  in  published  papers  which 
broke  new  ground  regarding  irrigation,  precipitation, 
the  relation  between  climatic  conditions  and  the  distri- 
bution of  various  Western  tree  species,  and  regarding 
the  establishment  of  the  natural  timber  line  in  this 
country.  That  he  thus  became  a  pioneer  in  the  field  of 
American  forest  geography  is  further  evidence  of  his 
originality  of  mind. 

Dr.  Gannett  was  a  voluminous  writer  on  geograph- 
ical, statistical,  and  inter-related  subjects,  and  did  much 

Page  Sixteen 


to  enrich  the  geographical  literature  of  the  world. 
Were  it  possible  to  compile  a  complete  bibliography  of 
his  writings,  it  would  represent  many  thousand  pages  of 
printed  matter.  It  would  include  his  reports  as  topog- 
rapher of  the  Hayden  and  Geological  Surveys;  all  his 
text  contributed,  much  without  signature,  to  three 
decennial  censuses,  and  many  census  bulletins  on  special 
topics,  published  over  his  name;  his  constant  contribu- 
tions to  scientific  magazines  and  societies,  which  were  in 
great  demand,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe;  his 
contributions  to  American  and  foreign  encyclopedias, 
which  include  the  most  important  issued  during  a 
period  of  thirty  years.  Only  with  such  a  bibliography 
can  one  realize  the  tireless  industry  of  Dr.  Gannett's 
brain  and  pen.  To  fully  appreciate  it,  one  must  under- 
stand that  all  these  contributions  were  on  highly 
technical  subjects,  many  of  them  advancing  new  facts 
and  ideas  on  controverted  or  unsettled  questions. 

He  was  the  author  of  several  books  which  hold  a 
permanent  place  in  geographical  and  statistical  science. 
Among  his  earlier  publications  from  the  Survey  were 
gazetteers  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut, 
New  Jersey,  Kansas,  Texas,  Utah,  Virginia,  West  Vir- 
ginia, Maryland,  the  District  of  Columbia,  Porto  Rico, 
and  Cuba.  In  1893  he  compiled  his  "Manual  of  Topo- 
graphic Methods"  (Monograph  XXII),  containing  a 
complete  description  of  the  topographic  work,  instru- 
ments and  methods  of  the  Survey.  His  "Dictionary  of 
Altitudes,"  first  published  in  1884,  has  passed  through 
four  editions.  The  above  publications  were  incidental 
to  his  official  work. 

Page  Seventeen 


HENBY  GANNETT 


In  1895  Dr.  Gannett  compiled  and  published,  in 
collaboration  with  Carl  L.  Garrison  and  Dr.  Edwin  J. 
Houston,  a  Commercial  Geography,  which  was  at  once 
recognized  as  the  standard  American  authority  in  this 
field,  and  is  still  extensively  used  in  schools  and  colleges. 
In  1895  he  published  "The  Building  of  a  Nation."  The 
volume  was  based  upon  the  census  of  1890,  and  pre- 
sented a  complete  and  impressive  picture  of  the  growth, 
resources,  present  condition,  and  probable  future  devel- 
opment of  the  United  States.  By  a  coincidence,  it 
appeared  in  the  same  year  with  Francis  A.  Walker's 
book  of  nearly  the  same  title,  "The  Making  of  the 
Nation."  It  might  almost  have  been  intended  as  a 
companion  volume;  General  Walker  condensed  the 
political  history  and  development  of  the  country,  in  a 
popular  and  effective  survey.  Dr.  Gannett  supple- 
mented this  survey  with  a  picture  of  the  geography, 
topography,  resources,  commerce,  revenues,  industries, 
and  wealth  of  the  nation — a  complete  statistical  photo- 
graph of  the  United  States  as  it  was,  and  is  yet  to  be. 
It  was  a  unique  and  invaluable  book. 

Later,  in  1898,  his  "United  States"  was  published  in 
London  as  Vol.  II  of  "Stanford's  Compendium  of 
Geography  and  Travel."  This  was  largely  an  elabora- 
tion of  the  previous  volume.  Some  day  some  American 
geographer  may  be  inspired  to  bring  these  books  up  to 
date,  for  the  service  of  millions  of  pupils  in  schools  and 
colleges. 

In  the  last  chapter  of  "The  Building  of  a  Nation," 
under  the  title,  "A  Forecast  of  the  Future,"  Dr. 
Gannett  ventured  a  series  of  prophecies,  some  of  which 

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HENRY  GANNETT 


are  interesting  revelations  of  his  views  on  live  questions 
of  the  present  day.  "The  utter  savagery  and  folly  of 
the  spoils  system  will  be  thoroughly  realized  long  before 
our  second  century  has  passed,"  is  one  of  them.  Others 
follow:  "The  time  is  near  at  hand  when  immigration 
will  be  closely  restricted,  and  only  the  intelligent  and 
industrious  of  Europe  will  be  allowed  to  make  their 
homes  with  us."  *  *  *  "With  the  restriction  of 
immigration  and  the  exclusion  of  its  worst  elements,  the 
trades  unions,  whose  members  are  almost  wholly  of 
foreign  birth  or  parentage,  will  disappear  from  our 
midst."  *  *  *  "The  restriction  of  immigration  will 
greatly  check  the  foreign  additions  to  our  numbers,  but 
their  places  will  be  filled  by  our  own  flesh  and  blood; 
and  the  natural  increase,  which  has  been  depressed  by 
the  flood  of  immigration,  will  quickly  recover  its  normal 
rate.  With  this  restriction,  also,  illiteracy  will  rapidly 
disappear."  "As  manufactures  extend  in  the 

South  and  the  whites  leave  the  farms  for  the  city,  their 
places  will  be  taken  by  the  colored  people,  who  will  thus 
become  the  farmers  of  that  section.  The  colored  people 
will  also  become  the  land-holders  of  the  South  and  will 
produce  the  cotton  of  the  world."  *  *  *  "The 
position  of  woman  in  the  future,  already  foreshadowed, 
will  be  realized.  She  will  no  longer  be  secondary  to 
man,  but  his  equal,  or  rather  his  supplement.  Among 
other  things,  she  will  naturally  assume  her  share  in  those 
great  corporations  known  as  municipal,  State,  and 
national  governments."  *  *  *  "Prominent  among 
the  improvements  we  are  destined  to  make  will  be  the 
simplification  of  our  language ;  phonetic  spelling  and  a 

Page  Nineteen 


HENBY  GANNETT 


simple,  consistent  grammar  are  only  a  question  of  time." 
*  *  *  "For  centuries  to  come  the  United  States  can 
supply  the  whole  world  with  fuel  without  depleting  her 
resources  of  coal." 

These  sentences  are  culled  at  random  from  Dr. 
Gannett's  "Forecast,"  because  they  at  once  illustrate  his 
terse  simplicity  of  style  and  reveal  some  of  his  advanced 
views.  So  far  as  we  can  yet  judge,  his  prophetic 
instinct  was  not  at  fault. 

Certain  features  of  all  these  volumes  impress  the 
reader.  Perhaps  the  most  significant  is  the  fact  that 
Dr.  Gannett  never  used  a  superfluous  word — I  mean  it 
literally;  he  was  a  literary  trip-hammer.  Both  his 
character  and  his  training  seem  to  have  inculcated  a 
contempt  for  mere  rhetorical  effort  in  driving  home  the 
significance  of  what  he  was  saying.  There  was  the 
fact,  often  a  novel  and  extraordinary  fact.  He  stated 
it  clearly  and  left  it;  let  the  reader  make  the  most  of  it. 
In  like  manner  all  his  writings  lacked  what  we  may  call 
the  personal  flavor.  He  never  made  reference  to  his 
own  contributions  to  geographical  and  statistical  science. 
He  shrank  instinctively  from  anything  like  self -ad- 
vertising. 

Dr.  Gannett  was  one  of  the  half  dozen  men  who 
conceived  the  plan  of  organizing  the  Cosmos  Club,  the 
prime  purpose  of  which  was  to  bind  the  scientific  men 
of  Washington  by  that  social  tie  which  promotes  solidar- 
ity and  mutual  sympathy.  Among  those  who  joined 
him  in  1878  in  signing  the  articles  of  incorporation  were 
Major  Powell,  Theodore  Gill,  Major  Clarence  E. 
Dutton,  and  Garrick  Mallery.  Major  Powell  was  its 

Page  Twenty 


HENBY  GANNETT 


first  president,  and  in  1897  Dr.  Gannett  Was  elected 
president.  Of  the  ten  incorporators,  Dr.  Gannett  was 
the  last  survivor.  The  Cosmos  Club  was  a  scion  of  the 
Philosophical  Society,  well  remembered  by  our  elder 
scientists  as  their  only  point  of  personal  contact. 

It  has  been  seen  that  national  geography  was  in  its 
infancy  when  Dr.  Gannett  first  began  its  study  in  1871. 
The  American  Geographical  Society,  organized  in  New 
York  in  1852,  had  done  much  important  work  from  the 
beginning,  as  it  continues  to  do.  Dr.  Gannett  was  long 
an  associate  editor  of  its  Quarterly  Bulletin.  In  the 
meanwhile  there  had  been  gathered  in  Washington  the 
body  of  young  men,  some  of  whom  I  have  named, 
intensely  interested  in  the  subject,  who  realized  the  need 
of  closer  co-operation  among  themselves  and  a  common 
center  for  their  activities. 

In  response  to  the  call  of  Gardiner  G.  Hubbard, 
General  A.  W.  Greely,  J.  R.  Bartlett,  Henry  Mitchell, 
Professor  A.  H.  Thompson,  and  Henry  Gannett, 
thirty-three  scientists  met  at  the  Cosmos  Club  on  Janu- 
ary 13,  1888,  and  organized  the  National  Geographic 
Society.  Mr.  Hubbard  was  elected  the  first  president, 
and  Mr.  Gannett  was  one  of  the  Board  of  Managers 
and  the  Recording  Secretary.  He  continued  to  serve 
the  Society  as  manager,  treasurer,  vice-president,  and 
president  as  long  as  he  lived.* 

The  Society  was  not  founded  as  a  rival  of  the  Amer- 
ican Geographical  Society,  but  rather  to  establish  a  local 


*  The  presidents  of  the  Society  and  the  length  of  their  service  have 
."been  as  follows:  Gardiner  G.  Hubbard,  1888- '97,  ten  years;  Alexander 
Graham  Bell,  1898-1903,  five  years;  W  J  McGee,  1904,  one  year;  Willis  L. 
Moore,  1905- '09,  five  years;  Henry  Gannett,  1910- '14,  five  years. 

Page  Twenty-one 


HENRY   GANNETT 


bond  for  the  geographers  resident  in  Washington.  It 
was  christened  the  National  Society  because  it  was 
located  at  the  National  Capital;  but  the  name  was  also 
intended  to  be  significant  of  the  whole  national  field 
which  it  has  since  occupied.  Its  growth  at  first  was 
slow,  its  quarters  were  cramped,  its  membership  small. 
The  magazine  it  established  was  largely  technical,  and 
appealed  to  the  professional  geographers.  Its  publica- 
tion was  continued  at  a  financial  loss.  Thus  the  Society 
struggled  along  for  ten  years,  when  Alexander  Graham 
Bell's  idea  of  utilizing  the  magazine  for  the  purpose  of 
popularizing  the  science  of  geography,  of  making  it  an 
instrument  to  appeal  to  the  human  interest,  as  well  as  a 
source  of  income  to  the  Society,  took  form  and  sub- 
stance. Under  the  editorship  of  Gilbert  H.  Grosvenor 
the  magazine  was  converted  into  a  powerful  popular 
agency  for  "the  increase  and  diffusion  of  geographic 
knowledge" — the  purposes  to  which  the  Society  had 
dedicated  itself  in  its  charter.  So  admirably  has  the 
plan  been  worked  out  by  Mr.  Grosvenor  that  the 
struggling  technical  journal  has  grown  like  Jonah's 
gourd.  Today  it  is  at  once  the  most  popular  magazine 
in  the  world,  judged  by  its  enormous  and  steadily 
increasing  circulation,  and  the  greatest  agency  for 
creating  a  knowledge  of  and  a  love  for  geography  as  a 
humanizing  science,  brought  to  the  fireside  by  the  best 
material  that  travel,  research,  and  exploration  can  sup- 
ply* by  pictorial  and  descriptive  methods.  It  is  unique 
in  its  character  and  in  its  success. 

Carried  forward  on  the  wings  of  its  magazine,  the 
National  Geographic  Society  now  has  a  membership  of 

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HENRY   GANNETT 


850,000,  in  all  countries  of  the  globe,  and  a  large 
revenue,  a  considerable  portion  of  which  is  dedicated  to 
the  actual  work  of  geographic  research.  So  soon  as  it 
was  seen  that  such  a  revenue  was  to  be  increasingly 
available,  the  Society  organized  its  Research  Com- 
mittee, of  which  Dr.  Gannett  was  the  chairman,  and  he 
continued  to  serve  until  his  death.  Under  the  advice  of 
its  Research  Committee,  the  Society  sent  expeditions  to 
study  the  volcanoes  of  Mt.  Pelee  and  La  Soufriere; 
aided  the  Peary  Expedition  which  discovered  the  North 
Pole;  studied  the  glacier  system  of  Alaska,  the  results 
being  embodied  in  the  beautiful  volume,  "Alaskan 
Glacier  Studies,"  by  Professors  Tarr  and  Martin, 
edited  by  Dr.  Gannett  and  recently  published ;  and  has 
supported  the  Hiram  Bingham  expeditions  making 
geographical,  geological,  and  archaeological  investiga- 
tions in  Peru. 

Behold  how  great  a  tree  has  grown  from  the  little 
seed  planted  in  1888! 

Mr.  Gannett  was  chairman  of  the  special  committee 
of  the  National  Geographic  Society  which  examined 
and  verified  the  records  of  Peary's  discovery  of  the 
North  Pole.  The  other  members  of  the  committee  of 
the  Society  were  O.  H.  Tittmann,  Superintendent  of 
the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  and  C. 
M.  Chester,  Rear  Admiral  United  States  Navy  and 
formerly  Superintendent  of  the  United  States  Naval 
Observatory. 

Dr.  Gannett  received  the  degree  of  LL/.D.  from 
Bowdoin  College  in  1899,  in  recognition  of  his  service  to 
geographic  science.  He  was  a  corresponding  member 

Page  Twenty-three 


HENBY  GANNETT 


of  the  Royal  Geographic  Society,  of  the  Scottish  Society 
of  Geographers,  of  the  Geographical  Society  of  France, 
and  was  the  Secretary  of  the  Eighth  International 
Geographic  Congress,  held  at  Washington,  in  1904.  He 
was  also  the  editor  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Congress, 
which  was  published  by  the  United  States  Government. 


I  have  thus  inadequately  sketched  the  services  of  Dr. 
Gannett  during  the  half  century  in  which  American 
geographical  science  has  grown  from  humble  beginnings 
to  a  development  not  surpassed  elsewhere.  For  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  he  was  a  central  figure  in  that  develop- 
ment. During  that  long  period  he  always  worked  in  a 
spirit  of  complete  sympathy  and  helpful  co-operation 
with  his  fellow  scientists,  who  respected  the  rare  quality 
of  his  work  while  he  lived  and  recognize  a  personal  loss 
in  his  death. 

It  remains  to  speak  of  Henry  Gannett  the  man.  To 
those  who  knew  him  intimately,  his  personality  stands 
out  with  rugged  lines  of  strength,  yoked  with  attributes 
which  commanded  admiration  and  affection.  To  the 
world  at  large,  his  striking  traits  of  character  were  only 
dimly  revealed.  It  was  always  difficult,  even  for  his 
intimates,  to  induce  him  to  speak  of  his  own  work  and 
achievements ;  he  held  a  wholly  inadequate  idea  of  their 
permanent  importance.  He  preferred  to  talk  in  appre- 
ciative terms  of  what  his  fellow  scientists  were  doing; 
he  was  modest,  unassertive,  even  to  a  fault. 

Profound  in  his  convictions  on  all  live  questions,  he 
never  sought  controversy;  nor  did  he  ever  decline  it, 

Page  Twenty-four 


HENRY   GANNETT 


when  his  convictions  were  affronted.  It  was  this  char- 
acteristic which  attracted  him  to  the  late  John  Muir, 
on  the  Harriman  Expedition,  to  the  scientific  success 
of  which  they  were  both  contributors.  He  had  a  deep 
contempt  for  scientific  charlatanism,  and  an  unerring 
instinct  in  its  detection.  His  convictions  were  founded 
upon  the  thoroughness  of  his  own  researches,  which  was 
the  key  to  his  methods  of  work.  Between  him  and  those 
whose  ideals  were  the  same  there  existed  a  kinship  at 
once  delightful  and  inspiring.  His  memory  will  be 
gratefully  cherished  by  many  of  the  scientists  now  win- 
ning their  spurs  at  the  National  Capital,  for  the  spirit 
of  practical  helpfulness  which  marked  their  personal 
relations.  Quick  to  detect  misdirected  effort  in  any  of 
his  younger  associates,  he  was  eager  to  point  out  a  waste 
of  time  and  energy,  and  to  reveal  out  of  his  long  experi- 
ence the  pathway  they  could  profitably  follow.  There 
are  many  among  them  who  gladly  acknowledge  that 
his  kindly  counsels  set  their  feet  in  the  right  ways.  He 
seemed  always  to  be  thinking  how  he  could  help  others, 
never  how  he  could  best  help  himself.  This  character- 
istic is  especially  dwelt  upon  in  many  of  the  letters  re- 
ceived by  his  family  since  his  death.  We  may  truly 
be  sure  that  if,  while  he  lived,  the  quality  of  his  work 
and  the  scientific  disinterestedness  of  his  services  was  not 
officially  recognized  in  the  degree  of  their  merit — and 
such,  indeed,  was  the  fact — it  was  largely  because  of  his 
own  self-effacement. 

Such  was  Henry  Gannett:  spotless  in  private  life, 
gentle,  modest,  helpful,  without  jealousies  or  enmities, 
eager  to  befriend,  with  a  consuming  love  for  his  great 

Page  Twenty -five 


HENRY  GANNETT 


science,  an  intense  desire  to  promote  and  perfect  it,  and 
a  tireless  industry  to  that  end.  There  are  not  many  like 
him  in  all  these  respects ;  and  because  such  men  are  rare, 
and  because  those  who  knew  Henry  Gannett  best  knew 
how  rare  a  character  he  was,  they  welcome  the  oppor- 
tunity to  pay  their  unstinted  tribute  to  the  geographer, 
the  statistician,  and  the  man. 

S.  N.  D.  NORTH. 


Page 


to  ^wtrg  (Sawrctt  from  ^!a  &nntttfir 


ADDRESS  OF  DR.  WILLIAM  H.  BALL  AT  THE  FUNERAL, 
IN  HUBBARD  MEMORIAL  HALL,  NOVEMBER  8, 1914. 

We  are  come  together  to  pay  to  our  friend  and  com- 
rade a  tribute  of  affection  and  respect.  His  was  no 
ordinary  personality.  True  to  the  traditions  of  his  fore- 
fathers and  of  the  community  from  which  he  sprang,  he 
fitted  himself  for  the  work  of  a  pioneer.  He  added  to 
the  spirit  of  adventure  the  curiosity  of  the  seeker  of 
knowledge  and  the  earnestness  of  the  man  of  science. 
He  became  skilled  in  recording  and  lucid  in  expositing 
the  knowledge  gained  by  the  severest  of  labors  in  the 
wilderness.  To  the  present  generation  scenes  of  his 
early  work  belong  to  an  old,  forgotten,  far-off  time. 
The  vast  unpopulated  spaces,  the  unscarred  mountain 
slopes,  the  silent  enmity  of  the  watchful  savage,  belong 
to  the  past.  To  him  they  were  a  daily  experience. 
Hunger,  cold,  fatigue,  and  danger  were  his  companions, 
the  harvest  of  knowledge  his  reward.  He  was  not  con- 
tented merely  to  garner  it  in.  From  his  studies  came 
new  and  graphic  methods,  making  clear  the  teachings  of 
experience.  He  became  one  of  the  little  band  of  real 
geographers.  The  earth  was  his  book,  from  which  he 
translated  for  us  the  records  of  the  unbounded  past,  and 
the  promise  of  the  future. 

Page  Twenty -seven 


HENBY  GANNETT 


A  great  poet,  dying  unappreciated  and  prematurely, 
in  a  foreign  land,  was  moved  by  his  thwarted  ambition 
to  ask  that  this  should  be  his  epitaph: 

"Here  lies  one  whose  name  was  writ  in  water." 

The  name  of  Henry  Gannett  is  written  on  the  peaks 
of  the  Rockies,  on  the  plains  of  the  far  West,  and  the 
islands  of  the  tropic  seas.  The  record  of  his  work  in 
Cuba  and  the  Philippines  will  form  a  bench-mark  from 
which  developing  nations  may  measure  their  future 
progress. 

This  stately  hall  will  carry  his  memory  with  that  of  its 
builders. 

His  kindly  comradeship,  his  retiring  modesty,  his  tire- 
less industry,  his  pure  life,  will  not  be  forgotten.  Hid- 
den behind  the  veil  to  which  we  all  with  measured  and 
inevitable  tread  approach,  worthy  leader,  good  comrade, 
kindly  friend,  beloved  and  loving  husband  and  parent, 
for  a  little  time,  farewell! 

* 

RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  MANAGERS  OF  THE 
NATIONAL  GEOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY. 

The  National  Geographic  Society  has  lost  its  honored 
President,  Henry  Gannett,  after  a  devoted  service  to 
the  Society,  covering  the  whole  period  of  its  existence. 

In  his  death  the  Society  has  lost  one  of  its  most 
enthusiastic  supporters  and  one  of  its  wisest  counsellors. 
He  was  one  of  the  six  men  who  organized  the  Society, 
becoming  its  first  Secretary,  then  its  Treasurer,  then  its 
Vice-President,  and  finally,  in  1909,  its  President,  an 

Page  Tiutnty-eigAt 


HENRY   GANNETT 


office  he  filled  with  honor  to  himself  and  credit  to  the 
Society  to  the  day  of  his  death.  From  the  day  of  the 
Society's  founding  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Managers,  and  for  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  headed 
its  Committee  on  Research. 

In  his  death  geographic  science  has  lost  one  of  its 
richest  contributors.  He  was  in  large  measure  the 
father  of  Government  map-making  in  the  United  States. 
As  Chief  Geographer  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  for  many  years,  as  Assistant  Director  of  the 
Philippine  Census,  as  Assistant  Director  of  the  Cuban 
Census,  as  Geographer  of  the  Tenth,  Eleventh,  and 
Twelfth  censuses  of  the  United  States,  as  Statistician 
of  the  National  Conservation  Commission,  and  as  Chair- 
man of  the  United  States  Geographic  Board,  his  con- 
tributions to  geographic  knowledge  were  of  inestimable 
value. 

We  feel  deeply  the  great  loss  our  Society  has  sus- 
tained in  Mr.  Gannett's  death,  and  extend  to  the  mem- 
bers of  his  family  our  own  as  well  as  the  Society's 
profound  sympathy. 

We  have  lost  a  valued  friend,  the  community  a  most 
useful  citizen,  his  family  a  devoted  husband  and  father, 
and  the  cause  of  geographic  science  one  who  labored  in 
its  behalf  with  unflagging  zeal,  with  unremitting  energy, 
and  with  unusual  success. 

* 
ASSOCIATES  OF  THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 

At  a  meeting  at  the  office  of  the  Geological  Survey  on 
Monday  afternoon,  November  9,  1914,  to  express  sym- 

Page  Twenty-nine 


HENRY  GANNETT 


pathy  at  the  death  of  Henry  Gannett,  some  of  his  old 
associates,  F.  W.  Clarke,  Arthur  P.  Davis,  Morris 
Bien,  George  H.  Ashley,  and  Alfred  H.  Brooks,  spoke 
of  Mr.  Gannett's  personal  character  and  of  his  contribu- 
tions to  science,  and  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted: 

We  have  met  today  to  express  our  sorrow  at  the  death 
of  Henry  Gannett,  the  first  Chief  Geographer  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey  and  the  leading  geog- 
rapher of  the  United  States,  and  to  pay  tribute  to  his 
character  and  his  work.  When  Mr.  Gannett,  in  1882, 
took  charge  of  the  work  of  the  Survey's  topographic 
branch  he  established  the  methods  and  fixed  the  stand- 
ards that  have  since  been  followed  in  the  great  task  of 
making  the  maps  for  a  Government  atlas  of  the  United 
States,  a  task  that  will  for  many  years  continue  to 
employ  a  large  part  of  the  energies  of  the  Geological 
Survey.  The  general  recognition  of  the  high  quality 
of  the  Survey's  maps  is  itself  a  testimonial  of  apprecia- 
tion of  Mr.  Gannett's  work.  These  maps  are  in  large 
part  the  products  of  field  methods  devised  by  him.  He 
first  used  the  method  of  sketching  traverse  work  on  the 
board  graphically  in  the  field  and  he  established  the 
present  method  of  primary  traverse.  His  "Manual  of 
Topographic  Methods"  has  been  published  in  two  forms 
by  the  Survey  and  is  still  a  standard  book  of  reference. 

Mr.  Gannett  was  a  geographer  in  no  narrow  sense  of 
the  word ;  his  interest  in  geography  included  such  diverse 
subjects  as  forestry,  rainfall,  the  profiles  of  rivers,  the 
origin  of  the  names  of  places  and  the  historical  detail  of 
our  national  geographic  expansion  and  of  the  determina- 

Pagt  Thirty 


HENRY  GANNETT 


tion  of  the  areas  and  boundaries  of  the  States,  on  all  of 
which  subjects  he  prepared  reports  that  were  published 
by  the  Survey. 

His  government  work  outside  of  the  Survey,  chiefly 
for  the  Census  of  the  United  States,  the  censuses  of 
Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  the  Philippines,  and  his  services 
as  Chairman  of  the  United  States  Geographic  Board 
and  as  Geographer  of  the  National  Conservation  Com- 
mission, covered  a  wide  field  and  showed  large  admin- 
istrative power. 

In  Mr.  Gannett's  death  the  Survey  has  lost  a  man  of 
broad  view,  wise  initiative,  and  great  service,  and  the 
science  of  geography  has  lost  a  master  spirit.  We  ten- 
der to  his  family  our  heartfelt  sympathy  in  their  bereave- 
ment and  feel  that  they  may  find  consolation  in  the 
knowledge  that  his  work  for  mankind  was  faithfully 
and  well  done. 

* 

THE  TWENTY- YEAR  SERVICE  TOPOGRAPHERS. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Twenty-year  Service 
Topographers  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
of  which  society  Mr.  Gannett  was  President  for  the  year 
1914,  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted: 

It  is  with  deep  sorrow  that  we  learn  of  the  death  of 
Henry  Gannett,  the  first  active  chief  of  the  topographic 
branch  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey.  In  him 
we  of  the  older  topographers  particularly  have  lost  not 
only  a  great  leader,  but  a  true  and  genial  friend. 

Mr.  Gannett,  immediately  upon  his  assumption  of  the 
duties  of  chief  topographer,  in  the  early  years  of  the 

Page  Thirty-one 


HENRY   GANNETT 


Survey,  began  the  organization  of  the  topographic 
branch.  He  set  a  high  standard  for  topographic  work 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  systematic  survey  of  the 
country.  He  laid  down  the  broad  general  lines  upon 
which  the  work  should  be  conducted,  and  which,  as  fol- 
lowed by  his  able  successors,  have  led  to  its  present 
development. 

In  Henry  Gannett  topographic  work  in  America  will 
miss  a  pioneer  and  a  leader,  the  Geological  Survey  a 
broad-minded  adviser,  and  its  older  members  a  beloved 

friend. 

*• 

RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  GEOGRAPHIC 

BOARD. 

Whereas,  death  removed  on  November  5,  1914,  the 
chairman  and  the  last  of  the  original  members  of  the 
United  States  Geographic  Board,  Dr.  Henry  Gannett, 
therefore,  be  it  resolved : 

1.  Realizing  keenly  the  void  thus  created  in  the 
Board,  we,  his  colleagues,  give  this  expression  of  per- 
sonal appreciation  of  his  charming  qualities  and  the 
unflagging  interest  with  which  he  served  the  Board  from 
its  beginning. 

2.  We  will  always  recall  with  pride  his  contributions 
to  cartography  and  statistics,  and  we  join  the  scientists 
of  Washington  in  deploring  the  loss  of  a  brilliant  and 
efficient  officer,  a  rare  organizer,  a  noted  statistician,  and 
a  man  alive  with  enthusiasm  for  the  increase  and  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge. 

3.  The  members  of  the  Board  will  always  hold  in 
memory  Dr.  Gannett's  intelligent  and  zealous  interest 

Page  TAirty-tnvo 


HENRY  GANNETT 


in  all  its  transactions,  and  unite  in  mourning  the  death 
of  a  good  man,  a  warm  friend,  a  wise  counsellor,  and  a 
public-spirited  citizen. 

4.  The  Board  sends  to  the  beloved  family  of  our  dear 
colleague  assurance  of  its  profound  sympathy  in  its 
affliction. 

* 

THE  SOCIETY  OF  AMEEICAN  FOKESTEBS. 

The  Society  of  American  Foresters  expresses  its  pro- 
found regret  at  the  death  of  Henry  Gannett,  an  Asso- 
ciate Member  of  the  Society  since  its  foundation,  and 
one  of  the  pioneers  in  forest  conservation  in  the  United 
States. 

As  a  geographer  of  wide  experience  and  travel,  he 
contributed  largely  to  our  knowledge  of  the  forests  of 
the  United  States  and  its  possessions.  His  description 
and  mapping  of  the  early  forest  reserves  led  in  large 
degree  to  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  national  forests 
and  their  proper  management. 

He  was  one  of  the  first  to  study  the  distribution  of 
forests  with  regard  to  climate  and  to  investigate  their 
effect  upon  rainfall. 

He  was  instrumental  in  organizing  the  collection  and 
analysis  of  forest  statistics,  which  brought  out  the  eco- 
nomic importance  of  the  lumber  industry. 

As  Geographer  of  the  Conservation  Commission  and 
Editor  of  its  report,  he  helped  to  crystallize  for  the  first 
time  a  comprehensive  statement  of  the  existing  knowl- 
edge of  the  natural  resources  of  the  country. 

Page  Thirty-three 


HENBY  GANNETT 


By  his  death  the  Conservation  movement  has  lost  one 
of  its  earliest  and  most  influential  leaders  and  the  pro- 
fession of  forestry  a  staunch  supporter  and  warm  friend. 
A  man  of  high  scientific  attainments  and  greatly  diversi- 
fied activities,  closely  interwoven  with  the  interests  of 
foresters,  his  loss  will  be  keenly  felt,  not  only  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Society  of  American  Foresters,  but  by  all 
friends  of  forestry. 


THE  COSMOS  CLUB. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Management  of  the 
Cosmos  Club,  November  9,  1914,  the  following  resolu- 
tion was  unanimously  adopted  : 

In  the  death  of  Henry  Gannett  the  Cosmos  Club  has 
lost  one  of  its  most  distinguished  and  respected  mem- 
bers. As  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Club  and  during 
many  years'  service  as  a  member  of  its  Committee  on 
Admissions,  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  and  later  as 
President,  he  took  an  important  part  in  determining  the 
character  of  the  Club  and  in  the  maintenance  of  its 
standards.  Mr.  Gannett's  distinguished  career  as  a 
scientific  man,  his  extensive  contributions  to  geographic 
knowledge,  his  wide  understanding  of  economic  prob- 
lems, his  democratic  personality,  his  interest  in  all  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  the  progress  of  civilization,  and  his 
sympathy  with  younger  men,  have  always  made  him 
respected  and  honored  by  his  associates.  His  death  is 
to  them  a  profound  loss.  They  extend  to  his  family  an 
expression  of  their  deepest  sympathy. 

Page  Thirty-four 


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